Squirrelvember: November in Squirrels

Squirrels love the holiday season!

Every year, the Cincinatti Zoo has a “Festival of Lights” – with millions of beautiful lights for their holiday festival. The squirrels historically chewed the wires and removed light bulbs – burying them as if they were nuts – leaving the zoo to switch to LED and not hang the lights until the very last minute. The video is pretty awesome.

Squirrels and crime

And thanks to the magic of the internet, we have access to small-town-crime-logs! People shooting bb guns at squirrels, complaints of neighbors cooking squirrels, decapitated cats that turn out to be half-eaten rabbits, dead squirrels, more dead squirrels, remind me to never move to Greeley, Colorado.

Is this really the best way to protect pecans?

A man in Oklahoma has been hanging dead or "nearly dead" squirrels around his pecan trees in an attempt to keep other squirrels away from his crops. Neighbors are rightfully disturbed. The city's response? That they do the same thing to keep squirrels away from power lines. People! Have some humanity! (And creativity in problem solving!) Feel free to complain to: cityofmarlow@cityofmarlow.com.

Squirrels on film

And red squirrels will be featured on the big screen soon, in this documentary “Reds vs Greys” (docu-drama?) which will show how the American grey squirrel messed up everything for the endangered red squirrel.

James Franco just named his new gallery exhibit of paintings of obese animals "Fat Squirrels." If you're in London, check it out.

Power outages

Class was canceled in Saginaw, Michigan when a squirrel made contact with electrical equipment, sacrificing his life so kids could have a day off from school.

Remains of a squirrel (and possibly a walnut?) were found on scene near a power line in Wisconsin, where lights flickered for residents. People with breathing machines were panicking and calling police in Denison, TX after a squirrel-related power outage.

And finally, over 2000 Cupertino residents were impacted when a squirrel sent the power out. Silicon Valley, we’re coming for you!

Don’t co-opt my culture, man

Ground squirrels – 'roid rage and daily rhythms

How do arctic ground squirrels adjust to the extreme light cycles of places like Alaska, where at times of the year there might be 24-hour light or dark? Scientists are looking for clues but going to the source and studying the squirrels on their turf and in the lab (note: I think the squirrel housing in the lab is too small for active squirrels, although I guess when they are in torpor, they don’t need too much space). Cool video with the sleepiest squirrel ever!

These same squirrels seem to benefit from high steroid levels without the “roid rage” (or tiny testicles?) that happen when humans have similarly high levels. Scientists think this helps them bulk up for hibernating in frozen ground.

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2 thoughts on “Squirrelvember: November in Squirrels”

Great post. I discovered you because I am debating the merits of continued feeding of squirrels in our backyard in Loveland, CO. A Greeley friend of mine got into a fire-fight in her back yard - BB gun toting woman vs. invading squirrels. Fortunatley, no one, squirrel or human was injured.

As much as we love watching the animal antics, I still have doubts about feeding the little guys. We have a lot more now, probably too many. So, solution? A squirrel proof bird feeder? Feed less?

And, as per the Greeley Trib report, your instincts about Greeley are right. Just don't tell anyone I said so:)

Thanks for reading! I find myself torn between knowing that feeding wildlife is not ultimately great for them, and the joy both I and my indoor cats receive from watching them. So, I would personally err on the side of feeding less, and feeding more natural foods (hazelnuts and walnuts) over junk if possible. Squirrel proofing a bird feeder is a challenging endeavor! 🙂